Comedy Award Winners
The 2011 Comedy Awards were announced on Friday Night.
Congratulations to all thecallsheet.co.uk members who have worked on some of the winning shows. Below are just some of the members and our interview with editor Calum Ross - winner with Fresh Meat.
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Best Sitcom - Twenty Twelve
David Colenutt (Location Manager)
Best Comedy Entertainment Program - Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Andy Lumbsden (1st Assistant Director)
Best Sketch Show - Horrible Histories
Adrian Rigby (Prosthetics)
Best Comedy Drama - Psychoville
Beatrice Manning (3rd Assistant Director)
Best New British TV Comedy - Fresh Meat
Calum Ross - (Editor)
We interviewed Calum Ross (below), editor on Fresh Meat just a few weeks ago. Read the full interview below
What are you working on right now and what’s coming up in 2012?
I am currently working on Wild at Heart, a drama for TV. And have enjoyed a busy few years within comedy drama. As for 2012, I have nothing lined up as yet - I very rarely know what project will be on next until the phone call comes in. As an editor, there is no real prep that needs to be done before starting a job and as a result we are quite often one of the last members of the crew to be called.
How did you start out? Had you always wanted to edit?
I graduated with a degree in photography from the Edinburgh College of Art, and one of my strengths was the ability to put images together that really worked. In my third year we had to do a block of video production and within my group I was selected to be the editor. I enjoyed the experience, but at the time my mind was focused on being a photographer, and so never gave much thought to becoming an editor. After graduating, I spent some time in Scotland where I grew up, and happened upon an advert in the local paper looking for a trainee assistant editor on a TV Drama 'Monarch of the Glen'. They were looking to take on someone local, and I got the job which is how I got my first foot hold in the industry.
You are part of the BBC comedy unit in Scotland, how did you become a part of that and what are the benefits and advantages of that unit?
My first experience of working with the comedy unit came when the director, Nick Wood, asked for me to cut 'The Incredible Will and Greg'. I hadn't cut anything for Nick before, but I had worked on a show that he was part of. Whilst I was cutting this, the Comedy Unit asked if I was interested in editing a new pilot called 'Burnistoun'. It was a very funny script and I found it impossible to say no. This led to another job editing 'Limmy's Show' (left), and when 'Burnistoun' was formally commissioned, I was asked to cut the full series. In the past I had been told that I didn't have enough comedy experience for some of the jobs I was up for, and I was grateful to Nick, and The Comedy Unit for giving me that opportunity.
The key to comedy is timing, what you do to translate performance into the edit. Can you give us an example?
The more comedy that you edit, the more you understand the comedy timing of the cuts. It's quite amazing how small changes can result in bigger laughs. Some actors are naturally funny, and no matter what they say, they can make you laugh. Quite often when you watch the rushes for a scene, they really make you laugh, and when you cut the scene it isn't quite as funny. Sometimes, the more cuts you put into a scene, the less funny it becomes. Something that gets drummed into your head by good comedy directors is never to cut away from the joke.
Burnistoun has many surreal characters and sketches, do you work closelywith the performers in post production to capture their performance?
With 'Burnistoun' I had quite a short fine cut period. I was assembling the sketches as they were being filmed, and then I had only two weeks with the Director, Iain Davidson, before they were to be shown to a live audience. The writers Ian and Florence were both starring in it, which in my opinion made made a big difference to my work in the edit. They are two extremely funny guys and great comedy writers, which very much came across in the performances. As a result, this was both extremely funny and relatively straightforward to cut.
You came onto Shameless series 8 shortly after. Did you do anything differently to your previous work?
I'm not sure that it's about doing things differently. When I edit, I look through all the raw material for a scene, cut it, then look through all the material again, just to make sure I have got the best out of the performances. Quite often you find little glances, and reactions within takes that you hadn't thought about when you first cut a scene. I approached Shameless in the same way.
Your most recent work is Fresh Meat, from the makers of Peep Show. Where you a fan of that show already and what can you tell us about your episodes of the Fresh Meat?
To be honest, I haven't seen that much of Peep Show. The few episodes I have seen were very funny, but I’ve never watched it religiously. I actually don't watch a huge amount of TV. Due to the nature of my job, at the end of a 11 hour day in the edit, the last thing on my mind is to go home and turn on another TV. I find myself buying box sets and when I get some time off I tend to work my way through them. I try not getting sucked into all the hype that surrounds the latest big TV show, and when it dies down, I catch up. I'm currently watching the Sopranos, which is fantastic.
With Fresh Meat (left), I actually came on board a couple of weeks into the shoot. Some of it had been assembled, while other scenes were waiting to be edited. I had a lot of catching up to do. I read the scripts and I straight away knew that it was going to be a hit. They were very funny indeed, and I thought episode six in particular had the potential to be one of the best episodes of the series.
What software do you operate at the moment and are there any emerging technologies or you want to use in future?
I use Avid Media Composer when I edit. I once did a job using Final Cut Pro, and it wasn't a very enjoyable experience. It wasn't that the software lacked anything that Avid has to offer, it was just that I had had no experience of using it before. I'd like to think that I will have an opportunity to work in 3d at some point. I'm not a huge fan of it but I think it's going to become industry standard for the big productions.
What is the most challenging aspect of your work and what do you when you are not in the edit suite?
I think the most challenging aspect of my job is finding the time to get the most out of a scene. As I explained earlier, I like to watch through the rushes twice, once before, and once after cutting a scene. This can be very time consuming. However, as a result it means that when it comes to the fine cut, I have a lot more time to work on some of the more creative aspects of the job, as I am not spending time going through all the takes with the director, looking for the best performances, camera moves etc. Over the last couple of years I haven't really stopped working. It's very seldom that I find myself with spare time on my hands. When I do however, its important to try to catch up with family and friends.
If you could change one thing about the industry, what would you do?
I'd probably make the hours more standardised – we've all got used to them but you only get one life.
What do you do when you are not working?
I like to try and catch up with friends and family, see a good film, and take my time with things.
Which film or film maker do you wish you could work with (who you haven’t already)?
I have to be honest and say there isn't a particular director I’d love to work with. I admire the work of young directors like Sophie Coppola and Nicolas Winding Refn. I'd love to be part of a film that made it to the big screen, but it would have to be something that looked beautiful, was timeless, and had great performances, but most of all had a bit of depth to it. Something like Lost in Translation would have been a fantastic project to have edited.
See Calum's full profile here and follow him on Twitter
You can watch every episode of Fresh Meat on 4OD. Click here to be redirected to the 4OD website.
You can visit the Comedy Awards website here and watch Friday's show right here